Comments on: iPhone 3G network issues frustrating early adopters

iPhone 3G users around the world are reporting problems with signal strength and quality of service on their new handsets, but no specific issues have been identified.

[rprashford]

I am having the same 3G issues, & it is the iPhone. I had the BlackJack 1 & 2, never had any 3G issues. Got the iPhone 3G and it has been a nightmare. I had the first iPhone with very few problems, if any. I was in line the other day & had NO SERVICE for 30 minutes, the guy in front of me had the first gen iPhone with full signal. I rebooted twice still nothing, did the sim card thing, nothing, turned 3G off rebooted, nothing for ten minutes, then Edge finally kicked in. Tried to make calls dropped everyone for the next twenty minutes, mean time the guy in front of me is chatting away on his 1st gen iPhone with no problems. ARGGGHHHHH!!!

[Shaun822]

This just kind of goes to prove that the Verizon advertisements are true. Even though the iPhone is obviously the most advanced phone in America, it is on a poor network and therefore doesn't live up to it's potential. Believe me I despise Verizon but I dislike all cell carriers and their network just makes up for everything else they do poorly. This isn't a problem with the iPhone it is a problem with AT&T.

[MakAttak]

People. Face it. It's the phone not the network. All of my previous 3G phones have worked without a prob and now this phone comes along and everyone seems to think its AT&T

[oeljay84]

Simple solution; get a Sprint Samsung Instinct! This product will not fail you !

[sting7k]

Well I guess I'll buck the trend here and say I am quite happy with my iPhone 3G's signal. In and around the DC/Baltimore area where there is good 3G coverage I get good reception. The other day I was going around town with a friend. He has a Samsung Blackjack 2 and 3G service from his company. Everywhere we went we had equal 3G service in and around DC. Not only that but my edge signal is also greatly improved. In areas where the signal would be 1-2 bars and drop out on my old iphone I now get nearly full service on edge and the signal is much more stable. The only time I had a dropped call so far on 3G was when I was inside a mall, but it is my understanding that 3G does not penetrate buildings very well so I don't mind, I can turn off 3G and get excellent edge service in buildingds. Call quality is also very good now and no background his or cutting in and out, GSM noise that I used to get literally everywhere with my old iphone I have not heard a single time even putting the iphone right next to things that used to get interference from my old iphone sitting several feet away.

[bharless44]

This is not just an iphone 3G issue. I believe its a 3G issue in general associated with AT&T. I was a cingular customer and I have a samsung 3G phone, ever since AT&T bought cingular and 'joined' the networks i've experienced the same thing, dropped calls, poor coverage, my signal being full but unable to place a call in areas where coverage used to be fine (i.e.- everywhere in my house). I went to the AT&T store, where i had no coverage (they said thats normal in their store though!), and they had the nerve to tell me dropped calls were prob bc of my handset, not their network. I live in Northern baltimore and should have 3G more than 5% of the time, let alone good coverage.

[fdunn3]

Did you bother to read the part of the article that states that iPhone users are having the same problems on other 3G networks in different countries? So what is the common denominator?....the iPhone design and or components.

See this article to demonstrate that Apple "low-balled" their 3G transceiver and RF amplifiers:
http://www.planetanalog.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209100359&cid=NL_planet

[fdunn3]

Did you read the part of the article that states that iPhone users are having the same problems on other 3G networks in different countries? So what is the common denominator?....the iPhone design and or components.

Apple in their typical control freak fashion chose inferior components for cost and so they could reportedly have more say since their orders would be more significant to a smaller less experienced component maker so they chose lower quality parts.
See this article to demonstrate that Apple "low-balled" their 3G transceiver and RF amplifiers:
http://www.planetanalog.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209100359&cid=NL_planet

[Zaunto]

AT&T's so called "all over network" does not provide "more bars in more places" as advertised. I got better call reception with my old RAZR than I do with my 3G Blackjack. Calls suddenly drop. The display goes from Edge to 3G to G, sometimes at random while I'm sitting at my desk at work. Sometimes I have no bars while at other times, the bars are full. I don't think this 3G issue is limited to the iPhone. I'd say that AT&T has a 3G problem, probably due to there now being many more 3G users on their network (in no small part thanks to the 3 Jesus Phone... )

[moe3754]

Funny I have had no problems with my N95-4 on the 3G network at all,maybe it is just the Junk from Apple!!!!

[webterractive]

I'm not surprised I'm using the phone with Rogers in Canada and I was laughing with some friends who've seen the commercial with the person holding it up talking about how 3G means fast speed and the "Globe and Mail" page loading. I showed them that since I'm the only one with the iPhone in our group and they laughed cause it was no where near that 30sec commercial. By the time the commercial had ended which meant going to the page itself and then clicking on a link on it, mine had just loaded the page. 3G is clearly not ready and I don't think it will be for a bit. It's only good for Facebook/My Space up here which is what Rogers Wireless advertises lots.

[pwb2103]

I definitely have signal problems. When I try to use my 3g iPhone at work or in my apartment, I can no longer make calls in the same spots where my old phone had such a strong signal that I never even thought about it. When I put the phone in field test mode in my apartment near the window I see signals between -93 and -103 db. Calls are garbled and regularly dropped. The worst part is that this is all happening not in some random small town but at Columbia university in Manhattan. So that makes it all sound like an iphone problem...
On the other hand when I went out to long island last weekend I didn't have any signal problems at all. Calls were crystal clear and I got great signals. Which makes it seem like an AT&T network problem... you know what I think it is? I think its a problem with both Apple AND AT&T

[GoodOmens]

I am having this issue. No bars on 3G in a strong 3G area and switching off 3G suddenly produces full coverage.

[omahachocolate]

I, too, live in Omaha, NE. As a decade-long customer of Sprint's on their cellular service, I was very leary to hop off their wagon to change to AT&T. Especially considering I would have to terminate my current contract early to change to the new iPhone.

Here's my 2 cents - first, with Sprint, I dropped calls once in a while, but with this new AT&T service, be it the phone or simply their network in Omaha...I drop calls all the time. And, I have to have people repeat themselves all the time on the phone when I do get lucky enough to carry a call. I can't see it being the phone's issue, but regardless, I'm not a happy camper with it so far.

Also, I can't seem to continually have good luck in check my cox e-mail. I've synced it up with the iPhone mail's program, and sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. And, if I simply try and visit webmail.central.cox.net to access it, sometimes I can log in, sometimes it says it's kicking me out because of inactivity...even though I'm not logged on the website on any computer... I don't get that.

Lastly, I was told by a representative at the Apple store that if I was terminating my Sprint contract early to come over to AT&T that I'd get a credit of some kind from AT&T for leaving Sprint. When I was checking out at the store with my new phone, I asked the person helping me if they took care of that instore. They said they have nothing to do with getting credits on AT&T accounts, so I had to call AT&T's customer service center for that. Of course, after all of that mess, I still haven't found out if they're going to credit me at all, of I'm simply SOL. I can tell you this, if I don't get any credit for cancelling Sprint, and based upon my existing experience with AT&T so far, I'd hop off of AT&T's service in a heartbeat here in Omaha. There network is terrible.

Dustin

[valdukey]

The 3G iPhone is physically laid out different than the first gen iPhone. The antenna and battery are in different spots as well as other circuits and components. My hunch is that this is a hardware issue and not a software issue. I don't believe any software updates would be able to completely fix this issue.

[a1016neo1]

Hardware problems CAN be fixed from firmware updates.... If Apple needs to make tweaks in the iphone's antennas, they can distribute the fix through a firmware update... A software update can fix the laggy keyboard for example...

Apple could/will just release a software update that is also a firmware update too and just call it 2.0.1

No need for separate updates...

[fdunn3]

You are in total denial a1016neo1. Firmware cannot change out a lousy transceiver. It may be able to change the phase on the antenna's but it cannot fix the antennas themselves.

[macb334]

I have a 3g iphone and my GF has the old iphone that she bought in May. When sitting next to each other, I'll have maybe 1 or 2 bars, and she'll have full service. It is always like this and she constantly has better reception. That makes me think that its a hardware issue more so than att being a problem

[fdunn3]

Just face it folks, the iPhone 3G put side by side with any other 3G phone is poor at best.

Don't expect a software or firmware update either as this is a hardware problem.

So either learn to live with it or turn your phone back in.

[Bobinmodesto]

My observation is that anyone with a new AT&T 3G capable phone will find that the device is driven to preference of the 3G network regardless of reception, until it is lost and forced back to Edge. This is causing horrendous battery life in AT&T phones. The option to program the phone to Edge-only may be available, depending on how helpful the support person, but nobody is answering the question: How much Edge capacity is being lost or sold where 3G is supposedly being added? I gave up after 2 tries with AT&T, and also gave up thousands of roll-over minutes because the same phone device worked four times longer with Verizon. A change will only occur when enough people leave AT&T, and they realize a marketing strategy mistake. I couldn't handle seeing my phones on the frenetic network search, switching literally every minute, in two cities 50 miles apart. That and battery charging were just too exhausting.

[jamesstposse]

I loved the first phone - died 12 days out of warranty. Basically had a choice to pay $199 for a referb OG or $199 for a 3g. The whole experience has been a huge step back IMO. From the moment that the apple employee had to open the box for me to today everything has been a huge letdown. I have had every issue that's been stated above with no way of knowing if it's ATT (they deny it) or an apple hardware/software issue (I think this is the problem). The magic of the original phone has been lost and cheapened for me. I have no idea as to what apple's up to but they need to get their #@@! together. I really wanted to be as happy with this purchase as I was with the original! With this all being said - there is no way that I could go back to another experience / phone.